Railspire

About Railspire

Based in Dallas, Texas, Railspire is a specialized technology firm developing autonomous driving systems for the rail industry. Founded in September 2020 by three railroad industry experts, the company focuses on retrofitting existing locomotives with its proprietary artificial intelligence and machine learning software. The founding team includes President Greg Hrebek, an executive technologist, and Dr. Brad Howard, a data scientist and systems engineer specializing in train physics. Their collaboration on developing the world's first autonomous freight train inspired them to establish Railspire. Lester Hightower, a second-generation railroader with extensive experience in transportation technology, serves as co-founder and board chairman.

Railspire's core business involves creating technology that enables SAE Level 4 autonomous operation, with an initial focus on yard, near-yard, and industrial environments. The system is designed as a modular retrofit for customer locomotives. It operates on a human-led, AI-enhanced model where human operators provide task-based instructions and oversight, while the AI handles the micro-details of train movement and handling with high precision. This approach is intended to enhance safety by increasing the situational awareness of operators, who are relieved from the minute details of driving. The technology aims to improve productivity by increasing yard throughput, boost worker retention by offering a safer and more comfortable work environment, and reduce asset and cargo damage through smoother, software-controlled train movements.

The company's business model targets industrial rail operators, shortline holding companies, and other railroad clients. Railspire's system is an open platform, designed to integrate with other technologies such as switch machine sensors and on-board cameras. Since its inception, the company has secured multiple rounds of funding, including an initial seed round of $875,000 shortly after its founding in 2020 and a total of over $24 million by mid-2025. These funds are directed towards research and development, productization, and customer deployments. The company signed its first customer, a California-based shortline railroad, in November 2022 and has since expanded its client base to include several shortline holding companies.